


Black coffee and sugar coated gumdrops

by Evilkat23



Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Human, Father-Son Relationship, I DON'T KNOW ABOUT THE TITLE!, I made that on a whim as well, I made this on a whim, Markus and Connor are brothers, Probably a modern setting
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-22
Updated: 2018-09-02
Packaged: 2019-07-01 03:44:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,779
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15765915
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Evilkat23/pseuds/Evilkat23
Summary: Hank expected the rest of his life would be drinking booze until he eventually dies. So, when he almost hits little six-year-old Connor with his car on his way to the liquor store one snowy night things take a surprising turn. Now, not only does he decide to foster the boy, but he also has to learn just who Connor is and why he was out on that cold snowy night.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first attempt at a DBH story so please be kind and I hope you enjoy!

Hank Anderson felt like lady luck just absolutely hated him. He felt like he got everything his heart desired only to have it horribly snatched away. It all started with a car crash that took his boy, his little Cole. Then, after that his whole life just… went crashing down. His ex-wife left him to rot, his job no longer provided him any joy or comfort from his ever constant sorrow. It just felt like the world was out to get him these last few years. So, he decided to mask the pain with alcohol. More and more he drinks to try and numb and forget the pain, but he could only mask the pain for so long before it would come rushing right back with a vengeance. With that pain came dark thoughts involving him and his revolver. He tried to push those thoughts back with more and more alcohol, but it seemed like the booze was making it worse… yet, he didn’t stop. He’d drown shot, after shot, after shot, in a poor attempt for himself to feel better. It would work for a day, maybe two, but in the end, the thoughts always came back.

 

They did on this lonely November night, the thoughts came plaguing his mind, so he went to his liquor cabinet, only to see it was empty. “Shit.” Hank huffed, he didn’t want to make a booze run, but it seemed he had no choice. Jimmy’s bar was normally a favorite stop of his, but- his head went to the oven clock, the neon green light flashed the time: 3:16 am it was too late and the bar was closed for the night. Hank tapped his fingers against the empty cabinet door for a few seconds before he decided on the Twenty-four hour liquor store that was across town. Yeah, it was a bit of a drive, but he needed the liquor. Loudly the cabinet slammed shut as he let it go; grabbing his car keys off of he table he gave Sumo a pet behind the ears before heading outside. It was a rather cold November night, Hank had just  found out as he made his way towards his car. Hell, he didn’t even make it to his car before it started to snow. “Alright, let’s make this a quick drive then.”

 

Hank slammed his car door shut before he started to fumble to put his keys in the ignition. Once they were finally in he turned the engine over, thankfully it didn’t stall, and a wave of heat from the vents was the first thing to greet him. The heat was welcoming from the cold that had already started to turn his face numb. Hank could see the snow starting the pile up on his windshield before he even took off out of his driveway, so he flicked the wipers on and finally pulled out of his driveway. Of course, the streets were dead with it being as early as it was so Hank was hoping for a simple and smooth drive to the liquor store. Hell, he might even get somewhat lucky and hit all green lights on his way there.

 

However, five minutes down the road he found himself growing a bit unnerved at how fast the snow was starting to come down. _‘Probably should have checked the weather before you left.’_ His mind scolded him bitterly as he became aware of the howling winds just outside of his car. “The liquor store is only ten more minutes away…” He tried to reason with himself. Still, he felt the darkness in the back of his mind start to creep into his thoughts: _‘Isn’t that what you told Cole that night? That our destination was only a few more minutes away? But… we never did get there, did we?’_

 

Hank sucked in a deep breath as he resisted the urge to just floor it the rest of the way to the store. He did turn the windshield wipers on a higher speed so he could see a little better. He wondered if the road had already turned into black ice he quickly shook his head hoping to never think of black ice again. He tried to focus on the road again, but the howling winds were starting to become an increasing distraction, so he took his eyes off of the road to turn on the radio in hopes of drowning the winds out. The heavy metal quickly filled his ears and successfully drowned the winds out allowing him to look back up towards the road-

 

“ _Shit!_ ” Hank absolutely screamed as he saw something dart in front of his car. He had slammed on his breaks causing his tires to squeal in protest, but thankfully he managed to stop before he hit just whatever it was that was in front of his car. Hank couldn’t see anything from his driver seat, but he didn’t see whatever it was go running off on the other side either. He waited for a few seconds in his car, thinking maybe he just saw something, but his gut was telling him to get out and check. _‘It was probably just a dog… or something…’_ He thought as he still opened his door and slowly got out into the freezing air. Hank sucked in a deep breath, the crisp air invading his esophagus making him wheeze a little. He wrapped his jacket tighter around his shoulders as he made his way around towards the front of the car. Hank rounded around the car and just couldn’t believe just what he was looking at.

 

It was a boy, a little boy no older than six or seven. This child had pale white skin that made Hank’s blood run cold at just how pale this kid looked. The boy was standing up straight looking at Hank’s car, clearly, he had the ‘deer in the headlights’ look downpact. This kid had on a dingy brown coat that was clearly too big to him as it went all the way down to his knees and the sleeves went way past his hands. That dingy coat was clearly the _only_ thing the poor kid had on, no shoes, no socks, and probably even no shirt, thankfully the coat was zipped up keeping mostly everything private.

 

“The fuck are you doing?!” Hank practically roared at the child. Of course, Hank regretted yelling the way he did, but he was just in a state of shock he couldn’t even comprehend why a child was out here, in the middle of the night and in the snow with nothing but a dirty oversized coat on. The kid’s head whipped around to look at Hank. He had a strange expression on his face. It was a look of confusion, like he couldn’t understand just why he was being yelled at. “Kid, it is freezing out and you’re out here with nothing on but a coat! You’ll catch your death!” Hank ran his fingers through his hair nervously before he looked back up at the kid. It had to be the kid’s puppy dog eyes looking back at him that made Hank _weak_ against him because Hank softened up before crouching down to look at him. “Do you have a name?”

 

The kid’s eyes darted around wildly as if he was afraid of something popping out at him. Still, the kid did not speak a word. “Hey, you can trust me… look,” Hank opened his coat pocket revealing his badge. “I’m a cop. I’m here to help kids like you.” He pulled that bullshit line out in hopes of getting this kid to say something, anything. The kid continued to look around before he focused back at Hank. Hank gave him a tiny smile. Finally, the kid did something, he pulled down the collar of his jacket (showing Hank that he was _not_ wearing a shirt underneath.) and the kid just pointed to it. Hank leaned in closer to see that there was in fact a name sloppily stitched in the collar of the coat.

“Connor.” The kid spoke softly, his voice was rough and slightly hoarse telling Hank that the kid had either been crying or was getting sick (probably both).

 

“Did you stitch that, Connor?” Hank questioned softly as he brought his hand up and rubbed the sloppy stitchings.

 

Connor shook his head vigorously to the side. Hank brought his hand down before he frowned. “Okay, Connor. Where do you live? Can you tell me that?” Connor once again shook his head to Hank’s question. This caused Hank to frown even deeper. “Do you have a last name?” He asked. Connor shook his head again and Hank could only give a very bitter ‘tsk’ at that.

 

 _‘Great, now I have no choice but to call CPS and find out just who this kid is! CPS is obviously closed at this hour and I honestly doubt anyone will want to help me finger print this kid to see if he’s been in the system before. Now what to do with him now!?’_ Hank brought his hand to his face before letting out a low and tired sigh. Finally, Hank looked back down at Connor. Connor was looking at him with equally tired eyes and seemed almost ready to collapse right there. _‘I guess… he could stay with… me? Just until morning!’_ Hank almost wanted to slap himself at that notion, why would he take a child home with him?! Yet, when he saw Connor suddenly give a sleepy yawn his heart and mind were set. “Okay. Come on.” Hank didn’t even question it when grabbed the child’s hand and lead him to his car. “You’ll stay with me for the night and then we’ll figure out what to do tomorrow. I think we both had a rough night.”

 

Connor didn’t even fight it, a note Hank made sure to mentally take. Hank placed Connor in the backseat and buckled him in. Hank then made his way to the driver’s seat and quickly back tracked back to his home. Something he’d later realized was a good idea, as he soon figured out the snow wasn’t letting up anytime soon, in fact, it had gotten worse, if he was sure there was no way he would have it made it home safely if he would have made it to the liquor store. Once he did make it home safely he parked and rushed to bring Connor inside, he didn’t even bother to lock his car.

 

“Brrr!” Hank joked as him and Connor got inside his home. Sumo perked up and rushed right over to them. “Easy, Sumo!” Hank warned the dog away as he was unsure on how the kid would react to seeing such a giant dog. Connor looked at Hank, then to Sumo, cautiously Connor brought his hand out. Sumo smelt his hand before licking it. “Ah, he likes you, kid.”

 

“And I like him.” Connor whispered in excitement before he gently started to pet Sumo’s head. It was honestly the first sentence that Hank had heard Connor utter.

 

“Okay, c’mon lets get you some clothes…”

 

Hank didn’t have much when it came to child clothes anymore. Not that he would ever willinging get rid of Cole’s clothes, but his Ex-wife took everything leaving him with nothing except a lone picture to remind him of Cole. Hank lead Connor into his bedroom and opened his closet in hopes of finding something, anything for this poor kid to wear. “Wow, I need new clothes,” Hank muttered more to himself than to Connor. “No matter… here,” Grabbing his hippy shirt he laid it down on his bed for Connor. “It’ll work for tonight at least.” Hank quickly flipped into father mode as he started to help Connor out of his jacket. Thankfully Connor wasn’t completely naked, no he had at least underwear on. Hank placed the jacket on his bed before grabbing the hippy shirt. “Arms up!”

 

Connor’s hands went up in the air as Hank helped put the shirt on. The shirt was _massive_ on Connor’s tiny body. It landed just at Connor’s ankles and the sleeves went way past his hands. Connor seemed to find this funny as he started to giggle and even play with the long sleeves. “Alright. Let’s get you to bed, kid.” It took no effort for Hank to pluck Connor off of the ground and place him on the bed. Connor didn’t need any invitation, no he happily wiggled under the covers and snuggled against Hank’s pillow. Hank watched as the kid was out almost the moment his head hit the pillow.

 

Hank snatched Connor’s jacket off the bed and made his way into the living room. Hank sat on his old couch and instantly started to snoop in the kid’s pockets, maybe he had an address or something on him. The first pocket had nothing but lint, the second pocket was torn with a massive hole at the bottom, but in the very last pocket, he did find something: a folded piece of paper. Hank wasted no time opening and unfolding the paper.

 

_‘Con._

_I’ll be waiting for you at Jericho._

_-M’_

 

“Okay… what the fuck?” Hank muttered softly as he rubbed his hand against his beard nervously. This did help Hank a little as he realized that, one: this kid was indeed a runaway, and two: Whoever this ‘M’ is trusted a six year old to find where ever this ‘Jericho’ is by himself.

 

Hank practically fell against the arm of his couch as he re-read the note a couple more times. His eyes were starting to feel heavy and because of that, he decided to let them rest for a few minutes. He felt a little at peace tonight despite not getting any liquor at the store like he wanted. Curled up on his couch like a cat, Hank managed to silently fall asleep without the need for alcohol. Something that hasn’t happened in a very long time.


	2. Chapter 2

_ ‘Someone is in the house!’ _

 

That was the first thought to wake Hank up from his sleep as he heard the sound of someone rummaging around his kitchen. Without even giving it a second thought he jumped from his spot on the couch with his gun already in his hands at the ready. Cautiously he walked into his kitchen, at first he didn’t see anything until he turned and found Connor sitting on the floor in front of the fridge his tiny fist in a box of cereal as he was just munching away like nothing was wrong. He didn’t even notice Hank, which was good because Hank was sure he would have traumatized the poor kid. Tucking his gun back into his jeans Hank walked over to Connor. 

 

“Mornin’,” He greeted Connor, finally getting Connor’s attention this time around. Connor shyly took his hand out of the cereal box and had a bit of a nervous look on his face. Hank slowly squatted down “Would you like that with some milk?” He offered. Connor perked up happily at that and nodded excitedly. “Okay.” Picking Connor up with little to no effort Hank sat him down at the table.   
  


Hank then went to his cabinets and grabbed two bowls.  _ ‘Okay. Today’s to-do list: Give Connor breakfast, maybe interrogate him while he eats.’  _  He then pulled out two spoons from a drawer.  _ ‘I should get a notebook and pencil. I have to bring him into the precinct… maybe not before I get him some clothes first. I can’t bring him in with only my shirt only! Poor kid needs some clothes on his back.’  _  He placed both down on the table, one for Connor and one for himself. He grabbed the milk from the fridge.  _ ‘How am I going to explain this all to Fowler? I can already sense a fight coming on. “You didn’t follow protocol! ‘Blah’ ‘blah’ ‘blah’!” _

 

Hank then made the two bowls of cereal. Connor didn’t even wait for Hank to finish pouring the milk before he started to eat. Hank frowned at that.  _ ‘Starved?’ _  Connor must have sensed something was wrong because he looked at Hank, Hank made sure to give Connor a small smile in response. Connor went back to eating. Hank didn’t make his cereal, not yet anyway. “I’ll be right back, okay?” He told Connor before walking away from the table. He walked away from the kitchen and over towards the hallway and into his bedroom. Sumo was on his bed fast asleep and snoring away, something Hank normally doesn’t allow and Sumo knows this. He was sure that Connor might have had something to do with that. He allowed it this one time as he went to his nightstand and opened it. His notebook was laying there waiting for him along with a pen. 

 

Hank opened the notebook and flipped passed all of his little  _ ‘notes’ _ until he found a blank page. He grabbed the pen and made his way back to Connor. “Okay…” Hank groaned as he sat across from Connor at the table. Connor had slowed down his eating, as he was already getting near the end of his cereal. “I’m just going to ask you a couple of questions, Connor. Okay? I want you to answer honestly can you do that for me?”

 

Connor’s eyes flickered up towards Hank but still, he continued to slowly eat. “I will take that as a ‘yes’...” Hank muttered. He then tapped his pen against his notebook as he realized there were a lot of questions he was dying to ask. There were a few good seconds of silence between the two of them as the only thing Hank could hear was Connor’s own constant chewing, and his own pen tapping against the notebook excessively.  _ ‘Where to start? What to ask? I don’t want to scare him right off.’ _ Hank continued to tap his pen non-stop; keeping his eyes off of Connor he looked anywhere he could, the wall, the ceiling, anywhere honestly. Finally, he focused on Connor. He was just eating away without a care in the world, Hank could see that Connor had accidentally dipped his sleeves into the milk, but Hank didn’t really care about that anyways. “Okay… I want you to know, you aren’t in any trouble, Connor, but I need to ask. What happened last night? What were you running away from? If anything?”

 

Connor’s chewing stopped almost immediately as he looked at Hank with scared wide eyes. Hank watched as Connor slowly placed the spoon down in the bowl before he looked down at the floor for only a few seconds before slowly glancing back up at Hank. Connor then proceeded to shake his head slowly, “He’ll find me if I tell you.”

 

Hank instantly stopped tapping his pen. “Connor, who is ‘he’?” 

 

“I can’t tell you…” His voice had grown raspy now as he looked around frantically afraid that whoever ‘he’ is will come out and snatch him away. 

 

“Connor. I’m a cop, remember?” Hank, once again, flashed his badge to Connor reminding the boy that he was safe. “Ain’t nobody coming after you. Not while I’m around, otherwise they’d have to face me and Mr. Gun. So, you can tell me anything.” 

 

There was a tense moment of silence as Connor started to pull at a loose string on Hank’s shirt until he finally looked back at Hank. His eyes still shown a bit of fear but he did seem to relax just a bit. “He’s a mean man… he wanted to sell me.” 

 

If Hank had coffee in his mouth he would have spat it out. Maybe a part of him should have guessed it might have been  _ that _ bad, the kid was practically naked for christ sake, yet it still came as a shock to him. “Okay.” Did Hank shake his head to straighten himself out before quickly writing down in his notebook:  _ Child sex traffic victim?  _  Hank had so many more questions, but he had to put them on the back burner for now because now he needed a name to get this scumbag off of the streets.“Now, Connor. What was his name?” Connor’s eyes darted for a minute before he clutched his arm scaredly. 

 

“I... I am unsure.” 

 

Hank frowned, “Nothing?” 

 

“... No… I do remember this big man, I mean  _ big _ he makes you look small! He was actually really nice and even apologized to me.” 

 

“What was the big man’s name?”

“I think it was… Luther?... no! Lester!... no… Lucifer?” 

 

Hank shook his head and let out a low exhale of annoyance. He had to remind himself that this was just a kid so of course, his memory was gonna be a little screwy, but damn if this wasn’t just plain irritating. Hank quick wrote down:  _ Guilty trafficker. Huge in size (weight or height?) Name starts with an L. _ “Tell me a little more about the giant. Was the darker skinned?”

 

“Yeah. Kinda like Markus only he was darker.”

 

Hank’s pen dropped from his hand as he looked over at Connor. “Who’s Markus?”

 

“My brother.” 

 

“... Is he at… Jericho?” 

 

“Yeah! How’d you know?”

 

“Connor. Where is Jericho?”

 

“Dunno.” Connor shrugged heavily. “I was hoping to find it a while ago but…” 

 

“Connor… how long ago did you escape your captors?” 

 

“I dunno… I almost want to say… four days ago.”

 

Hank clutched his chest horribly.  _ ‘This is it! This is the big one!’ _ His mind roared as he was  _ sure _ he was going to have a heart attack right then and there.  _ ‘This kid has been on the fucking streets for four goddamn days and nobody fucking noticed?! No wonder he was so hungry!’ _

 

“Mister?” Connor asked in concern as he put his hands on Hank’s arm. Connor had wide eyes now as he was looking at Hank with nothing but pure worry in his eyes. 

 

“Sorry…” Hank gasped out loudly before he straightened up and snatched his pen off the table immediately he started to write:  _ Was on the streets for four days (maybe). Has a brother named Markus, he is 'M’.  _

 

Hank then flipped the page over and started to write something else. 

 

_ To-do list _

 

_ Get Connor some proper clothes.  _

 

_ Go to police station look up missing children reports. If nothing comes up to try and find out about Markus or Jericho.  _

 

_ Get Connor home safely.  _

 

_ Try and find the scumbag trafficker.  _

 

Hank put his pen down and looked over his list. It was a small list, but it’ll have to do for now. “Okay, kid. No more questions, for now, I promise. Okay? Finish your breakfast and we’ll go and get you some clothes.” He told Connor as he got up from his seat. Hank lightly ruffled Connor’s hair as he passed Connor on his way over towards his own room. Sumo was now on his back thick white, orange, and black fur all over Hank’s sheets and blanket. “Alright! Down!” Hank huffed angrily as he pushed Sumo off of his bed. Sumo jumped down and gave Hank his own snort in protest as he trudged away. Once Sumo was gone Hank turned his attention to his dresser drawers. He knew he didn’t have too much, but he needed to get Connor some pants or shorts. Hank rifled through the drawers in hopes of finding something that will fit Connor. The most he found was an old pair of shorts that Hank was sure went unworn for years.  _ ‘It’ll have to do.’ _ was the only thought he had as he shrugged. 

 

Connor was done with his food by the time Hank had come back. Hank crouched down in front of Connor, who was standing now and opened the shorts up. “Alright, kiddo. Go ahead and step on it.” He grunted softly. Connor placed his tiny hand on the base of Hank’s neck and stepped up and into the shorts. Hank helped button and zip the shorts up. The very moment he let go of the shorts and sure enough down it went around Connor’s ankles. “... Okay…” Hank sighed as he pulled the shorts back up around Connor’s waist. “Just hold those up. We’ll get you a pair that fit. I promise.”

 

Connor looked ridiculous. It almost made Hank want to laugh. The oversized hippie shirt hung loosely on Connor exposing his neck and collarbone, and the sleeves went on at least ten inches where Connor’s hands had stopped. The jean shorts where practically pants on Connor and Connor had to constantly pull the pants up. Hank had to turn away and cough, hiding his chuckles from Connor to the best of his abilities. “Okay. Let's go.” 

  
  
  


After several people giving Hank and Conner some weird stares (including cashiers), Hank finally managed to get Connor some clothes that actually fit him. It was only just one outfit so it wasn’t too hard to find. So here Connor was in some black pants, a long-sleeved tee shirt with some kids cartoon character on it, socks, snow boots, and a scarf. He wanted to get Connor a jacket as well, but it seemed that Connor didn’t want to give up the dirty beige jacket of his and so Hank let it be. 

 

After that bit of clothes shopping, Hank went straight towards the police station. As he drove on down the road, Hank noticed Connor’s wide-eyed stare at all the stores they passed, so Hank, being the man he was, decided to maybe question Connor just a little more. “So, Con… what do you know about your parents? Anything that I can use to help find them?” 

 

Connor tore his gaze away from the many shops and focused on Hank. “Parents?” He questioned in a slow drawl. “Oh, I don’t think I’ve ever had those.” Hank raised an eyebrow at Connor.

 

“What do you mean? You have to have parents. I mean you have a brother, therefore you have parents… right?”

 

“...” Connor now had a frown on his face before he looked out the window to look at the passing shops again. Hank frowned as well at this and gave an awkward cough before scratching his beard. There was just silence between the two of them now as neither of them could find the right thing to say.  _ ‘Orphan?’  _

 

“Do you have parents?” Connor suddenly asked out of the blue. 

 

“Well… yeah. I have a mom and dad, like everyone, well… dad passed away five years ago, but my mom is still kicking.” Hank chuckled weakly. 

 

The rest of the ride to the station was in silence. Once parked, Hank got Connor out of his car and lead him up towards the building. Halfway to the station, Hank felt a tiny hand slip into his he didn’t even think about it and held on to Connor’s hand the rest of the way to the station. Inside the station, Hank noticed a lot,  _ a lot _ , of people giving him double takes. Hank lead Connor to his desk, Hank lifted Connor up and placed him in his rolly chair. Connor wasn’t even in the chair for five seconds when Fowler’s voice roared throughout the whole precinct so loud that Hank was sure the whole city of Detroit heard him.

 

“Anderson! What the actual fuck?!”


	3. Chapter 3

To say Fowler was angry was a bit of an understatement as the chief start to angrily pace around his office. Hank could tell that Connor wasn’t comfortable with that as he was starting to wiggle anxiously tap a pen against Fowler’s desk loudly. “Fowler, sit the fuck down. You're scaring the kid.”

 

“I’m scaring the kid that you stole!”

 

“For the last fucking time, Fowler! I didn’t steal him!”

 

“Hank! You not only took this kid, but you didn’t even bother to call for the proper authorities. No, you took him home like he was just a lost dog! Do you realize how much trouble you could get in for this!” 

 

“I’m a cop! What ‘proper authorities’ should I had called for at three in the fucking morning!?” Hank yelled back at Fowler. Connor was no longer tapping the pen but practically slamming it loudly against the desk frantically. 

 

“You are a detective: homicide in case you forgot. You aren’t CPS and you aren’t equipped to handle a case involving a child. Unless that child saw a murder that is.” Fowler growled angrily at Hank in response. The slamming of the pen stopped giving Hank some relief.

 

“Oh, bullshit, Fowler! The kid didn’t know his last name, still doesn’t, might be an orphan with only a brother left alive-” Hank was cut off by Connor suddenly tapping his shoulder for attention. “-Uh-Ye-what?” Hank turned to Connor.

 

“I have to use the restroom.”

 

“Down the hall all the way to the right.” Both Fowler and Hank told him without skipping a beat. Connor scooted out of his seat and simply walked out of the office. Nobody really gave Connor too much of a second thought as he made his way towards the restroom.  Fowler only shook his head angrily. Once his door shut Fowler sucked in a deep breath “You have no idea how much trouble you are in, Anderson!”

 

“Listen. Suspend me if you absolutely have to… but just help me get this kid to safety.”

 

“... What do you know?”

* * *

  
  
  
  


The instructions were simple, just go all the way down the hall and to the right that’s where the restrooms should be. He found them, did his business, and even managed to wash his hands. Yet, on his way out Connor got a little sidetracked. It was the wanted bulletin board just against the wall outside of the restrooms that made Connor pause. He couldn’t read some of the bigger words on the posters but he could read some things about these people. His eyes scanned the bulletin board looking from person to person when he paused so suddenly. He looked at the picture of the person in front of him for the longest time before he realized something. 

  
  


Connor didn’t even think. He just ran, he had to tell Hank! Connor’s tiny little legs almost couldn’t even keep up with the speed he was producing as he almost fell a couple of times. He could see Hank off in the distance already leaving Fowler’s office. Connor picked up his pace, but that was when a leg suddenly stepped in his way Connor didn’t even have time to stop. He rammed right into someone’s leg causing him to fall to the ground, as he fell he felt something cold splash against him causing him even more confusion in the whole process. “What the fuck!? Who’s fucking rugrat!?” A furious male voice roared out in rage. “Fucking causing me to spell my fucking coffee! Fucking brat!” Connor’s instincts took over before anything else. He curled up in a ball in an effort to protect himself. 

 

“Gavin! Calm down! You’re scaring him!” Hank’s own loud voice bellowed out. The whole precinct seemed to go quiet at this. “C’mon Connor, don’t let this dick scare you.” Feeling his arm being grabbed Connor allowed himself to be hoisted up to his feet by Hank. 

 

“Wow, Anderson. Just wow…” Gavin huffed out before shaking his head. 

 

“You got a problem!?” Hank demanded a big snarl on his lips.

 

“Just keep that brat out of my goddamn way…” 

 

Hank turned to Connor before sighing. “You shouldn’t be running around like that, Con,” Hank warned him before smoothing out Connor’s shirt. 

 

“I found Markus!” 

 

Hank’s hands paused. “W-What?” 

 

“On the wall! Come and see!” Forgetting his fear, for the time being, Connor grabbed on to Hank’s hand excitedly and lead him all the way to the wanted posters and pointed excitedly. “See! That’s him in the far corner!” 

 

Hank looked at the picture before pinching the bridge of his nose. “Son of a bitch…”

 

* * *

  
  


“Well, an APB was just put in place for Markus Stern,” Fowler grumbled before he looked at Connor who looked tiny in the large chair he was placed in. “Are you  _ sure _ that is your brother, Connor?”

 

“Uh-huh, That’s Markus alright!... what did he do to get put on the wall?”

 

“He… it doesn’t matter, Connor-” Fowler then reached into his pants pocket and pulled out a dollar. “… here. There’s a snack machine over there. Go get you something. Okay?” Connor hesitantly took the dollar before walking out of the office. Once the door shut Hank looked over at Fowler.

 

“It says on the poster he’s wanted for several extreme cases of violent assaults,” Hank muttered before rubbing his beard. “Explains why he went into hiding… but the question is why do the assaults in the first place? Never killed anyone, but he did beat them to hell and back.”

 

Fowler shook his head before rubbing his eyes in a tired manner. “I don’t know, Anderson. Ask Reed he’s on Markus’s case.”

 

“Hell no!”

 

“That’s an order! He knows more about Markus than I do! Right now I still need to get CPS on the phone! Now  _ go _ !” 

  
  
  


“...Mister?” Connor patted Gavin’s leg to get his attention.

 

“Beat it! Rugrat!”

 

“I got you a coffee!” Connor placed the hot cup of coffee on Gavin’s desk. 

 

“Don’t want it.” Maybe it was to prove a point, or maybe it was because he was just that mean, but Gave proceeded to take the coffee cup and throw it in the trash right in front of Connor. “Now beat it! I’m busy-”

 

“Reed! Guess what, you and I are working together now.” Hank blatantly put it as he stormed up to Gavin’s desk.

 

“What?! No way in hell am I working with an old drunk!”

 

“Too fucking bad! I need to find Markus Stern and you’re the one on his case.”

 

“Why the hell do you need to find Markus Stern?”

 

“Because-” Hank come up behind Connor and placed both of his hands on his shoulders. Connor felt a little confused by this as Hank now forced Gavin to pay attention to him. “-You’re looking at his little brother. AKA, your key to bringing Markus in and my key to figuring out just what the hell is up with this kid.” 

 

Gavin had a mixture of emotions run across his face all at once before he settled on anger Connor reached up and grabbed Hank’s hand in slight fear that Gavin was going to get violent. “ _ Fuck! _ ... “ His hand slammed down on the desk causing Connor to jump slightly and cling tighter to Hank’s hand. “What do you want to know, Anderson?” 

 

“Everything.”

 

* * *

  
  


Hank didn’t like to leave Connor behind with the CPS lady that came in to question him, but he needed to see the evidence against Markus himself and Connor wasn’t allowed in the evidence room as is. He just hoped Connor was fairing well without him.  _ ‘The kid can go a week on the streets, he doesn’t need you by his side every second.’ _ His mind told him cruelly. 

 

“-Markus is a tricky fucker,” Gavin grumbled as he brought a case file over to Hank. Hank didn’t even wait for Gavin to open it, he just snatched it from Gavin’s hands and started to read. “Of course what do you expect from the eldest son of Elijah Kamski.” 

 

“...  _ The _ Elijah Kamski? Like… Billionaire found murdered five years ago… Elijah Kamski?” 

 

“Yep. Practically no one knew he had children. Mainly because his children-”

 

“-Didn’t have his last name…”

 

“Nope. Rumor has it that he didn’t want them to be bombarded by paparazzi like he was. So, he kept them hidden. From what I gathered he musta named them after his dead college teacher.” 

 

“Makes sense… I guess…” Hank shook his head but continued to read the report. 

 

“Well, Markus was thirteen when Kamski died and Connor musta been one-”

 

“Did Kamski not leave a Will for them?”

 

“That’s the thing. He did. He requested that in the case of his death he wanted Markus and Connor to still stay hidden from the public eye. Markus would be the next in line to get his Money at eighteen.” 

 

“Okay… clearly from his last charge of stealing from ambulances and… fucking blood banks that’s not the case.” 

 

“Well, little hard to claim billions of dollars when you’re wanted. Wouldn’t you think?”

 

“... wait… back up. Most Will’s should have a legal guardian for children under eighteen. Did Kamski not leave one?” 

 

That was when Gavin gave a sudden shrug. “That’s the thing.  _ That _ was one of three things missing from Kamski’s mansion just that one part of the will and… can you guess the other two?”

 

“... birth certificates? If that’s the case then how did you find out Markus was his son in the first place?”

 

“Turn the page, Old man.” Hank did as he was told and sure enough right there in the back of the folder was Markus’s birth certificate. “Killer took Markus’s copy certificate, but accidentally left the real deal behind.”

 

“Okay… so obviously this wasn’t given to the general public… so we have two children. Ages thirteen, and one, respectfully no known last names, virtually homeless, and they go into foster care and get separated…” Hank mused over. 

 

“Not for long though… because you just connected my dots.”

 

“What do you mean?”

 

“Look at Markus’s charges. In the last three months, he has had a shit ton of assault charges. Why? None of them knew Markus...” Gavin gave Hank a bit of a knowing look as a smirk pulled at his lips. “None of these people knew Markus but…”

 

“You’re telling me that Markus is beating the shit of foster families because he wants Connor?”

 

“Makes sense it’s either that or… I just know that sometimes foster families are known for being… mean to the children they foster as well… Maybe Markus got word of someone beating his baby brother-”

 

“The note! Connor had a note on him from Markus. So that means that Markus got in contact with him at one point… but why didn’t he take him if he had the chance?”

“Maybe he didn’t have the chance. Maybe he was waiting for the chance and was telling Connor to hang tight.” 

 

There was a silence between the two of them as Hank placed the folder down on the table and gave a loud groan of annoyance. “This just got a million times more complicated… now what?”

 

“Well… we could use Connor as bait. Let Markus think the time is right and when he tries to take little Connor we arrest him.”

 

“ _ Use  _ Connor? He’s just a kid, Reed!” Hank responded quickly and aggressively. 

 

“It’s just an option, don’t get your dirty boxers in a twist, Anderson, but if you want to get Markus out of hiding… I suggest doing it.” Gavin seemed to get ready to put the case up before he decided to add one last thing to his statement. “By the way, if you want to solve to Kamski murder case, because I know it’s a cold one, I might consider it as well. Because evidence shows that Markus might have been present when Kamski was murdered.”

 

* * *

  
  


“You must be Hank Anderson. I’m Hilary Newton, CPS.” Hilary flashed her badge at Hank before giving him a tight smile. Hilary was a tall woman, hell in her heels she was taller than Hank. She had gray-streaked blonde hair that she wore in a tight bun, crinkles around her eyes and mouth, she couldn’t be older than forty.  

 

“Lieutenant Hank Anderson… DPD as I’m sure you know.” Hank greeted her back as the two of them shook hands. There was a tension in the air around the two of them as Hilary actually seemed to be gritting her teeth in anger. 

 

“Lieutenant. So you’re more than just an average police officer then? My question is what made you think it was a good idea to take a child without checking for the proper requirements?” Hilary demanded as she then tried to crush Hank’s hand it didn’t even hurt. 

 

“Well, Mrs. Newton, it was early in the morning and the kid had no clothes, or even knew his last name. So…” Hank snatched his hand out of her vice grip. Hilary gave a ‘Hmph!’ In response to him before sticking her nose up in the air. 

 

“No matter! Not that he’ll be in your care tonight. I’ll be sure to take him to a proper foster home.” She grumbled. “It’s odd though. When I questioned him he did seem somewhat fond of you for the day you’ve known him…”

 

“What if I wanted to foster him?” Hank asked her and she laughed bitterly and loudly in his face as a result. 

 

“Mr. Anderson! Please! Like CPS would ever let you foster a child. I can smell the booze on you from here!” She let out a happy sigh and seemed to wipe a tear away from her eye. “No. He will be put in a  _ proper _ foster home. Mr. Anderson.”

 

“Like the last one you put him in. Involving someone ‘selling’ him? Who was that exactly, because I’m curious.” Hank asked her as he gave her his own tight smile. 

 

“I’m not allowed to discuss such a matter with you.”

 

“Yes, understandable. I’ll be sure to get that warrant before the night is over-oof!” A tiny body was suddenly thrown around Hank’s waist as Connor was now hugging him as tightly as possible. 

 

“Do I have to leave him?” Connor quietly asked Hilary as he continued to cling on to Hank for dear life. Hank wasn’t even aware that the others in the station were actually starting to watch. “I really like him. Don’t you like me, Hank?” Connor asked Hank a noticeable whine in his voice.

 

“I-”

 

“Connor, this man is not fit to foster you.”

 

Suddenly there was a loud tapping noise causing almost everyone to look in Fowler’s direction. Fowler gave both Hilary and Hank a beckoning finger into his office. Hank felt his blood both turn to ice and boil at that as he realized Reed was inside the office as well. “Son of a bitch…” Hank grumbled loudly. Hank got ready to walk but realized that Connor was still wrapped tightly around his middle. “Hey, kiddo, gimmie a few minutes with Fowler. Okay?” Connor shook his head and buried his face into Hank’s stomach clearly afraid that Hank would leave him. “I’m not going anywhere… I promise. Just stay right here…” Hank had to practically pry Connor off of him. Connor looked scared but stood where Hank had told him to. 

 

Hilary was already inside the office by the time Hank had started walking. Hank opened the glass door and was met with an angry shout from Hilary. “-He’s a child! I refuse to let you monsters  _ use _ him!” She seethed she then whipped around and pointed accusingly at Hank. “You! I bet you’re in on this! How do you gain a child’s trust just to use him!” 

 

“Hey! I’m actually not for this!”

 

“Anderson, clearly you aren’t seeing the bigger picture! We could capture Markus, close the Kamski case, and figure out just what Markus has planned! Why he’s robbing all of these ambulances!” Reed snarled at him. 

 

“You aren’t even thinking of the child here! Do you think Connor would want to be the reason his brother is put behind bars!? That will traumatize him!” Hilary slammed her fist on Fowler’s desk in rage. 

 

“Fowler…the Kamski case has been cold for five years. Only Markus is the key to closing it. Think of the bigger picture here.” 

 

“Oh, screw your ‘bigger picture’ Reed!... I, however, want to foster Connor- but-!” Hank already saw Hilary’s mouth open in protest so he stuck a finger up to silence her. “-Not for the reason you think, lady. Fowler… Connor’s been through enough shit. I’m… for whatever reason a person he likes and already trust, hell something tells me I’m the only one to treat him like a damn human.” 

 

“He’s a drunk, I can see and smell it on him!”

 

“Everyone shut up!” Fowler roared as loudly as possible and slammed his fists on his desk. “This too much right now…” Fowler sucked in a deep breath before looking at each and every one of them. “I’ll start with you first, Reed.” He pointed to Gavin. “I understand you want to not only put Markus behind bars, but you also want to be the one to solve the Kamski murder, but I have to agree with everyone else here we can’t just use a child. I’m sorry.”

 

“Fucking bullshit!” Gavin screamed at Fowler. 

 

“He is a civilian! Plus! What if Markus actually manages to take off with him?! Huh? Then you not only lost a child but you lost your chance. I’m sorry, I’m not risking it, end of discussion!” 

 

Gavin didn’t even yell back he just turned and stormed out leaving Hank and Hilary. “Now you two…” Fowler looked at the duo before leaning back in his chair. “Hank… why? You’ve only known this kid a day.” 

 

“Fowler, don’t pretend like you didn’t see what happened out there! That kid is clung to me! I think I’m the only person to actually treat him halfway decent if I’m honest.” Hank told Fowler point blank. 

 

“Hank… are you serious about this?” 

 

Hilary huffed and placed her hand on her chest. “You cannot be seriously considering this! He can’t raise a child! I can assure you that kid will most likely die-”

 

“That’s enough-”

 

“ _ You want to finish that sentence?! _ ” Hank bellowed in response to her as he turned to face her. “I’ll have you know, bitch. I can raise Connor ten times better than any of those fucking foster homes that you put him in!”

 

“Hey!-” Fowler tried to speak but was cut off by Hilary. 

 

“Would you bet your job on it?”

 

_ “That’s enough!” _ Fowler once again slammed his fist on the desk. 

 

“Yes,” Hank spoke before Fowler could. “I would.” 

 

“Okay… I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt. I’ll allow you to foster little Connor. On one condition. If I find anything wrong during one of my visits you lose Connor and you quit your job. Because if a police officer can’t raise a child properly… then he doesn’t need to be a police officer then.”

 

“Hank-” Fowler once against tried to speak. Probably to tell him to think on it or to even give it a second thought. 

 

But Hank didn’t. He didn’t even give it a single thought. He just shook Hilary’s hand. 

 

“Deal.” 

  
  



End file.
